Nawaz acquitted in 37-year-old property reference

LAHORE: An accountability court on Saturday acquitted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a 37-year-old private property reference.

Judge Rao Abdul Jabbar announced the verdict. The counsel for Nawaz Sharif argued that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the reference against his client on the basis of malice, saying Nawaz Sharif had no role in the allotment of plots. He argued that a case could not even be made under the new law.

The council said all other accused in the case had already been acquitted of charges. The counsel argued that in case of insufficient evidence, even a proclaimed offender could be acquitted.

The NAB prosecution did not raise any objections to the acquittal of Nawaz Sharif. The court, after hearing the counsel, acquitted the former prime minister.

NAB had alleged that the former premier illegally allotted 54 plots each measuring one-kanal situated in Block-H, Johar Town, Lahore, when he was the chief minister of Punjab. It alleged the accused caused a loss of Rs143m to the national exchequer through the allotment of the land.